Banana-crate



PATENTED MAR. 1

M. LOMBARDO.v

BANANA CRATE.

APPLIUATIQN FILED UGT. 29. 1903.

I N0 MODEL.

Hor'nzys l To a/ZZ wig/mit it may. concern:

Patented March 1, 1904.

PAT-ENT GFFIOE.; f

MICHELE LOMBARDO, or MASON cirr, rOwA.

BANANA-GRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 753,410, dated March 1, 1904.

p Application ned cantar 29,1993.

Be it known that I, MICHELE LOMBARDO, a citizen of the United States, residing atA Mason City, in the county of Cerro Gordo and State of Iowa, haveinvented a new and useful Banana- Crate, of which the followingis aspecication.

YMy invention relates to crates of the-type which are employed for shipping bananas, and has for itsobjects to produce a comparatively simple inexpensive device of this character in which the bananas will be thoroughly protected during transportation and one in which the sack or envelop containing the bananas may be readily removed from the crate-frame to permit storage of the fruit for ripening or other purposes.

To-these ends the invention comprises the novel-features of constructionand combination of parts more fully hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of thecrate-frame. Fig. 2- isv a vertical section through the crate complete. 3 is a detail view of the sachA or envelop removed. Fig, 4 is a detail view of one of the devices -for securing the envelop in' place. A

Referring tothe drawings, it'will be seen that my improved crate as a whole comprises a skeleton frame 1, a removable sack or envelop 2, and a supplemental protecting sack or bottom 3, attached to and supported within the frame for receiving and protecting the lower portion of envelop 2. These parts may be of any suitable material; but by preference I construct the frame of wood and the envelop and protectingsack of canvas, burlap, or equivalent material.

The frame 1 preferably consists of a plurality of longitudinal slats or members 4, spaced transversely one from another and connected at their ends by end hoops 5 and between their ends by intermediate hoops 6, said hoops being allr suitably spaced vertically one above another and lying upon the outer faces of the slats. The frame is provided at its opposite 'ends with suitable supporting members or flanges 7 preferably in the form of hoops disposed upon and attached to the inner faces of slats 4, these supporting members being in- Seria1lllo.l179,038. (No model.)

s i H set from the ends of the'frame for the purpose which will hereinafter appear.V

k Thesack or envelop 2, which is of a size, to inclose a bunch of bananas, is attached at its upper end to a ring orhoop 8, which maintains the mouth of said sack opener distended and l when the parts of the crate are assembled rests upon either of the supporting members 5 for suspending the envelop within the open frame. The material of the sack or envelop is folded and stitched around the hoop S'for securingl the latter in' place and isextended upward beyond said hoop to produce an integral closure or Hap 9, which may be drawn together by a running-string, as herein shown, o`r otherwise for closing the mouth of the envelop. The envelop is removably secured within the frame by means of temporary fastening devices-10, composed of any suitable pliable metal and adapted to extend through transverse openings 11, provided in the end hoops 5, and to engage similar registering openings 12, formed transversely through the hoop 8, these fastoning devicesbeing of the form ofcotterpins, the arms of which are yangnlarly bent after passing through the openings 12 to lie along the inner faces of hoop 8, as shown in Fig. 4. It is apparent from this arrangement that the envelop 2 will be maintained securely in position within the frame during transportation and may be readily removed when it-is desired to store the bananas for ripening or other purposes-and that the envelop may be suspended from either end of the frame by engaging the fastening devices 10 with the openings 11 of either of the end hoops 5.

The supplemental sack or protecting bottom 3 has its upperend or mouth attached to a hoop or ring 13, which maintains the mouth of the sack open or distended and is in turn secured to the slats 4 at the longitudinal center of the frame, the material of the sack being folded and stitched around the hoop, as in the instance of envelop 2. This sack or bottom, which receives and protects the lower portion of envelop 2, may be vturned through and thus suspended toward either end @flze frame by its ring 13, thereby adapting it to herein set forth, inasn'mch as minor changes may be made therein without departing from the Spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isM 1. In a crate, the combination with a frame,

p of a member adapted to be seated in either end thereof, an envelop suspended from the member within the `frame, means for removably connecting the member with the frame, and a protecting-sack sustained within the frame with its mouth disposed adjacent to the 1ongitudinal center or'- the latter, said sack being adapted for reversal to receive thelower end of the envelop when suspended from either end ot' the frame.

2. In a crate, the combination with a frame, of supporting members disposed at opposite ends thereof, 'a second member adapted to seat upon either oi' the sul'iporting members,

an envelop carried by the second member for suspension within the frame, means for removably attaching the second member to the frame, and a protectingsack sustained within the frame with its mouth disposed adjacent to the longitudinal center of the latter, said sack being adapted for reversal to receive the lower end of the envelop when suspended from either end of the frame.

3. In a crate, the combination with a frame, of a member adaptgd tn be Seated in either end thereof, an envelop suspended from the member within the frame, means for removably connecting the member with the frame, said means comprising fastening devices engaged with one of the parts and detachably engaging openings provided in the other, and a protecting-saek sustained within the frame with its mouth disposed adjacent to the longitudinal center of the latter, said sack being adapted for reversal to receive the lower end of the envelop when suspended fromeither end of the frame,

In testimony that I clai-m the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MICHELE LOMBARDO.

A\`\" itnesses:

M. A. SwAxsoN, XV. F. Muse. 

